βοή

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

βοᾱ́ (boā́) — Doric

Etymology

Of imitative origin, but the exact Proto-Indo-European root is unclear. Compared are Sanskrit गु (√gu, “to sound, proclaim, shout”), Lithuanian gausti (“dull sound”), but these could instead be related to γοάω (goáō, “to wail”) (from *gewH- (“to cry out”), *geH- (“to cry”)). Also compare βύας (búas, “eagle owl”), βοηθέω (boēthéō, “to help someone”), βωστρέω (bōstréō, “to call on for aid”).^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /bo.ɛ̌ː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /boˈe̝/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /βoˈi/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /voˈi/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /voˈi/

Noun

βοή • (boḗ) f (genitive βοῆς); first declension

shout, cry
battle cry

Declension

First declension of ἡ βοή; τῆς βοῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ βοή hē boḗ	τὼ βοᾱ́ tṑ boā́	αἱ βοαί hai boaí
Genitive	τῆς βοῆς tês boês	τοῖν βοαῖν toîn boaîn	τῶν βοῶν tôn boôn
Dative	τῇ βοῇ têi boêi	τοῖν βοαῖν toîn boaîn	ταῖς βοαῖς taîs boaîs
Accusative	τὴν βοήν tḕn boḗn	τὼ βοᾱ́ tṑ boā́	τᾱ̀ς βοᾱ́ς tā̀s boā́s
Vocative	βοή boḗ	βοᾱ́ boā́	βοαί boaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

βοάω (boáō)
βοηθόος (boēthóos)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “βοή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 224

“βοή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- blare idem, page 82.
- call idem, page 108.
- cheer idem, page 128.
- clamour idem, page 134.
- cry idem, page 187.
- din idem, page 225.
- exclamation idem, page 289.
- flourish idem, page 329.
- howl idem, page 408.
- hubbub idem, page 409.
- noise idem, page 559.
- outcry idem, page 582.
- racket idem, page 668.
- roar idem, page 719.
- scream idem, page 742.
- shout idem, page 769.
- vociferation idem, page 955.
- voice idem, page 955.
- war-cry idem, page 962.
- whoop idem, page 978.
- yell idem, page 995.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “βοή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 224

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